


In absentia lucis, Tenebrae vincunt

by Crazyloststar



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassination Plot(s), Friends to Lovers, M/M, Secret Organizations, Secret Relationship, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 14:35:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22137691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyloststar/pseuds/Crazyloststar
Summary: The words didn’t get easier to read, no matter how many times Ignis looked upon them. The fifth time was just as hard as the other four.Or perhaps even more so.Noctis, aged twenty, fully set up following in his aging father’s footsteps. The King, growing weaker by the month due to the magic he used to protect the city from a strange virus that had sprouted up on the edges of the country.Ignis wondered, idly, what the priests would have done without Noctis to produce an heir eventually. Would they really have just killed off the Caelum line, based on a silly superstition?He sipped his coffee and watched the parchment turn to ash in the bowl where he had set it ablaze.***Written for the 2019 ignoct big bang
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 24
Kudos: 76
Collections: The Ignoct Big Bang 2019





	In absentia lucis, Tenebrae vincunt

**Author's Note:**

> Wonderful art by [shell!! ](https://twitter.com/InkyCarbuncle)
> 
> Thanks to [milo](https://twitter.com/HON3YFLOW) for reading through this and helping me out!! 
> 
> And shout out to the amazing [Audrey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyskdramablog) for listening to me as I panicked a lot about this and letting me spam them with snippets!!! 
> 
> this is loosely based off The Rifter Series by Ginn Hale, one of my favorite book series to date. Though by loosely I mean I just loved the idea of someone being sent to be close to someone until the order comes to assassinate them but also accidentally falling for them oops. 
> 
> shout out to everyone in the big bang!

Ignis couldn't have known this was where his life would have ended. But he felt like maybe he should have as the flames of Ifrit’s sword swallowed the trees in front of him.

Noctis was somewhere above, using his swords to attack as much as he could through the smoke.

Even with the flames licking at his uniform and the blood running down his arm, Ignis wouldn't have traded this moment.

Not for the life of Noctis.

* * *

> _10 Years Ago_

Ignis held the piece of parchment paper up as if the kitchen light would somehow prove it was a fake.

Of course, the high priests would use something as predated as paper and wax seals and ink to send this kind of message. He would have admired them for their dedication if not for the words on the page.

𝕴𝖓 𝖆𝖇𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖆 𝖑𝖚𝖈𝖎𝖘, 𝕿𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖚𝖓𝖙

His hands shook as he set the paper down on the counter, on top of the rest of the mail. Mindless and innocent things like coupons and bills mixed in together with this, the sign that he had spent his whole life preparing for but also never expecting.

The sound of the television being turned on made him jump.

“Are you hungry, Noct?” He managed to say without a quiver in his voice somehow. He took the paper and folded it, tucking it into his back pocket.

“Sure, surprise me.” Noctis called out. The sound of a video game loaded up. Ignis didn’t have the strength in him to argue that certainly Noctis had homework he needed to do.

He busied himself making food, the note soon forgotten for a time.

But once Noctis had gone home for the evening, he pulled the note out and flattened it on the counter. He stared at the words rising in start black fancy script.

This wasn’t supposed to ever happen. The high priests and oracles and secret assassins - that was all supposed to be smoke and legends and just some strange holdover of ancient tradition the crown itself didn’t even know about. A fail-safe in case the end of the world was upon them that had been around for so long, those who knew of it were too superstitious to _not_ uphold the tradition for fear that perhaps maybe their ancestors were right.

Ignis crossed his arms and kept staring at the note in disbelief.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

He debated calling Gladiolus to ask his advice. But then someone _else_ would know he received the letter, and he would be held accountable to his task and true duty.

Ignis stepped away and into the kitchen for some water. And to think.

Gladiolus and he were about the same age, but they also shared a deep connection with Noctis as a friend more than just attached per their status. Gladiolus was Noctis’s Shield, but he was also part of the fail-safe.

Between the Shield and the Hand, they were responsible for Noctis.

For everything.

He hadn’t known Gladiolus for very long though, not personally. They had just started to have a friendship that went beyond nods in the hallways of the Citadel, so he couldn’t entirely trust that he wouldn’t just immediately do as was instructed by the paper. Ignis could only hope that Gladiolus would share the same reservations as he. But then again, Ignis didn’t want to assume his reservations would go quite as far as his own, no.

Ignis’s blood went cold and he almost dropped the glass, because what if Gladiolus also received a letter?

He set the glass down and took a few breaths. No, everything he had learned had stated very clearly that it was the Hand who would receive instruction when the prophecy occurred, when it was deemed that the world was threatened, and the Oracle claimed the path to salvation.

Ignis was to then go to the Shield, and together they would go to Noctis. Everything he had been told growing up rushed back to him; his duty to the crown but also to Eos, the need for him to always be close but not too close, to be able to enact his true purpose in life. The reason the Scientia line has existed alongside the Crown for hundreds upon hundreds of years.

Part of Ignis now believed this to be some sort of curse placed upon the family. Or perhaps no one had ever had the issue Ignis faced before, of getting too close to their charge.

Ignis certainly messed that up years ago.

But it was the Scientia’s who were to set things in motion. They were who the priests had the direct line to.

Ignis turned this over and over in his mind. So, no one would know, except him, that the note had been received. The church would only know it was sent.

And modern mail services could be so _fickle._

He laughed they just used it like it was any old letter, and not potentially one of the most important messages of their time.

But none of that mattered.

He moved quickly over to the table. He had thrown away the envelope, a nondescript thing that had no return address. He picked up the letter and looked it over once more.

Surely, he couldn’t be blamed if he hadn’t opened mail from an unidentified person.

He carried the letter over to the stove and hesitated only a beat before setting it on the front burner.

He turned on the flames.

Ignis watched as the paper vanished into ash and smoke.

He stepped back and waited, as if perhaps the gods would strike him down. Or the priests would show up at his door. Or the Oracle herself, trident aimed at his heart.

Silence.

Quiet.

Nothing happened.

A smile twitched at his lips. And then he laughed.

No, no one would ever know he even received the letter.

He stepped out of the kitchen feeling much better.

* * *

> _8 Years Ago_

If the priests were at all surprised that Noctis had finished high school and made it to his eighteenth birthday, none of them said as much at his coming of age ceremony.

The whole ordeal was quite the ritual. The blessings of the old kings and queens by the priests, the tidings of a bright future from the oracle, though her voice a little strained. King Regis looked satisfied, and Noctis bored in his regal attire. It was perfect and Ignis would challenge everyone in the world if they said this wasn’t what Noctis deserved, to be standing there like any other young adult who had better places to be, who would leave after this and fall into Ignis’s arms, who would sigh and kiss under his jaw and ask for them to stop for some fries on the way home.

As the ceremony ended, the Oracle, Lunafreya, said the final prayer.

“Te Gladi, Vos Gladias, his Nomine Sancto, Titan, Ramuh, Shiva, Leviathan, Ifrit elico. Estote meum castellumque praesidium contra omnium hostes, conspicuusque nonconspicuus, in quisque magiceum opum.”

Her gaze caught Ignis’s attention. He held her look, and something prickled the hairs on the back of his neck.

No, she couldn’t know. Not that he had been avoiding the letters, at least.

“Nomeno Sancto Saday, qui est in imperium magnum, et his alio nomine: Cados, Cados, Cados, Adonai, Elohi, Zena, Oth, Ochimanuel, primoque ultimo, Sapentia, Via, Vita, Virto, Principio, Oso, Oratie, Splendoro, Luce, Sol, Fono, Gloria, Mono, Porta, Vite, Lape, Scipio, Sacredo, Pravo, Messia.”

It had seemed a bit too obvious, though, that a third letter had been placed in his mail that morning, even though there was no delivery on Saturdays.

“Astrals in omnium meum negotia regnas et in illos res quem me resistunt, vincite.”

Lunafreya’s bright blue eyes moved away from him. Her soft stare landed on Noctis as she said the last word of her speech. Ignis lowered his gaze to his hands, clasped in front of him.

He pushed back the memory of burning the letter that morning in case her powers could possibly include the ability to read minds - if she knew what Ignis had done, it would take just one word from her and the priests would believe her, no questions asked; the Oracle had that much power.

Ignis had to tread carefully.

But he couldn’t believe the stories, that Noctis could be dangerous. There hadn’t been a single record of a Lucis Caelum being removed from the throne in this way since the first. Clearly this was all just a gross misunderstanding, a miscalculation.

He released his grip on his own hands, flexing them.

The ceremony ended, and the room erupted in cheers for Noctis. He turned away from the altar to face the small room of those who had been allowed to attend; mostly close family, friends and dignitaries. The gold accents of his attire glinted in the soft light of the room, and Ignis reminded himself to tell Noctis how handsome he looked standing there in the royal black cloak.

All that was missing was the crown he would one day wear.

Ignis would make sure of it.

Noctis stepped forward as he had practiced, walking down the middle of the room and towards the doors in the back. Ignis couldn't follow yet, as he was merely the Hand, but as his Shield, Gladiolus fell in line directly behind them... Together they would step out into the foyer and Lunafreya would present Prince Noctis, now of age, and now able to move onto the next stage of his preparation to be King of Lucis.

Ignis stood proud.

When he could finally move, he didn’t go to Noctis’ side, but instead to the side of the area where he stood, waving at the crowd who cheered for him. Once the photo ops were done, he was to be moved to the car, so he could be transferred back to the Citadel for the celebration.

Gladiolus moved Noctis away from the crowd and whispered something. Noctis blushed and swatted at his arm discreetly. Ignis raised an eyebrow.

“Everything alright?” he asked as he opened the door and Noctis slid in, with Gladiolus following, to the backseat. He moved around to the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, Gladio’s just a jerk. Hey, where’s Prompto? I asked him to come!”

“He will be at the party - we weren’t able to secure him for the ceremony, apologies.”

“Lame,” Noctis sighed. “This outfit is awful, when can I change?”

“We will get you in your next one at home, should be easier for you to move around in.”

When he looked in the rear-view mirror, Gladiolus made eye contact with him. He looked away quickly.

“Man, I’m craving fries.”

Ignis smiled. “On the way home?”

This time when he looked in the rear-view mirror, he directed himself to Noctis and was rewarded with a beaming smile.

“You’re the best, Specs.”

Gladiolus groaned. “You guys are gross.”

“Hey!”

Ignis cleared his throat.

Once at the Citadel, they made their way up to Noctis’s quarters.

“I’m going to go do a perimeter check with security, I’ll be back after.”

Ignis nodded as they entered the room. Noctis stepped into the room and started to disrobe, while Ignis stood at the door listening.

“He gone?” Noctis whispered.

Ignis stepped away from the door. Noctis had gotten down to just his black slacks and soft short sleeve shirt he wore, his bare feet padded loudly as he ran forward and threw himself into Ignis’s arms.

Ignis held on tight, arms wrapped around his waist. Lips pressed against his jaw and Ignis smiled before turning to meet those lips with his own.

“You did wonderfully, love.”

Noctis nestled against his neck and let out a huff of air. “It was so boring.”

“Yes well, most ceremonies are to you.” Begrudgingly, he pulled Noctis to standing upright. “You must get dressed. Gladiolus will be back soon and -”

Lips on his interrupted his train of thought, but Ignis found he couldn’t really mind, not when Noctis pushed him back against the door as their mouths slotted together perfectly, and certainly not when Noctis let one hand slide down his waist, between their hips.

“Noct,” Ignis warned, but his voice had a huskiness to it that he knew would only propel Noctis forward.

“Specs,” He whispered. Their mouths pressed together once more and Ignis drank it in, the feeling of Noctis pressed against him, their bodies lined up, Noctis desperate to touch him.

A knock at the door made them freeze.

“I gave you guys plenty of fucking time, come on.”

“Gee, now I know how quick you are, I guess!” Noctis shouted. Ignis shushed him as he skittered away to get dressed. Ignis made himself presentable again, before opening the door for Gladiolus.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna get your ass handed to you one day,”

“I don’t care very much, apparently.” Ignis smiled.

Gladiolus just laughed and smiled as he walked in, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “No, you don’t.”

* * *

> _6 Years Ago_

𝕴𝖓 𝖆𝖇𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖆 𝖑𝖚𝖈𝖎𝖘, 𝕿𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖚𝖓𝖙

The words didn’t get easier to read, no matter how many times Ignis looked upon them. The fifth time was just as hard as the other four.

Or perhaps even more so.

Noctis, aged twenty, fully set up following in his aging father’s footsteps. The King, growing weaker by the month due to the magic he used to protect the city from a strange virus that had sprouted up on the edges of the country.

Ignis wondered, idly, what the priests would have done without Noctis to produce an heir eventually. Would they really have just killed off the Caelum line, based on a silly superstition?

He sipped his coffee and watched the parchment turn to ash in the bowl where he had set it ablaze.

“Specs?”

He turned - Noctis had gotten out of bed early, not even bothered to pull on much past Ignis’s sweats that hung too low on his hips and slipped over his feet.

“Specs, it’s Sunday morning, what are you doing up so early.”

Ignis shrugged and drank his coffee. “Found I couldn’t sleep.” He of course couldn’t say he had heard something being slid under the door.

Noctis’s gaze moved to the large envelope on the counter.

_Damn._

“Something from the Citadel?” He stepped forward and tapped it.

Ignis took another sip. “Merely a summons. I’ll be back soon.”

Noctis looked at it, then past Ignis to the stove. He didn’t move, didn’t want to make it seem like he was hiding anything. He hoped there was no residual smoke coming from the small pan.

“How urgently do you need to be there?”

“Hm?” The question caught him off guard. He had expected Noctis would just go back to bed. Instead he slid forward gracefully until they were pressed together, chest to chest.

Lips grazed up Ignis’s throat, teeth nipped at his ear. “I mean, just saying, Sunday mornings we usually have a nice, lazy time, before we get moving. I feel a bit robbed right now.”

The smell of parchment burning still hung in the air around him. A small part of Ignis wondered if that was why Noctis had come over - to investigate without arousing suspicion. He would have taught him well enough, to think so quick.

The smell also served as a reminder hanging over him, that he could usually ignore any other day of the year. Ignore his calling that he had been avoiding. All for what some at this point would say was for selfish, so very selfish reasons.

He moved his fingers up bare skin. Noctis shivered. “You’re very right, Highness.”

Noctis groaned against his throat. Ignis smirked.

“Come back to bed,”

“I’ve got a better idea.”

Ignis was more than happy to get down on his knees and give his prince the attention he so deserved. With Noctis sated and curled back up in bed, he was out the door. He tried to focus on the feel of Noctis pressed against him, of the taste of him, the way he called out his name, as he made his way not towards the Citadel, but to the Temple.

No one would understand why he was doing what he was, but Ignis didn’t much care. He wouldn’t let anyone take what he had away.

Ignis stepped into the temple. Sundays weren’t a day of worship for most, so it was thankfully empty. He stepped forward, towards the altar, and stood where he had years ago, when he had taken an oath he never thought he would need to follow through on.

“Ahead lies a future uncertain, and yet the Astrals would swear once it was less so.”

Ignis flinched but didn’t turn towards the voice. “Gentiana,”

She appeared in his peripheral, to his right. But years ago, it had been Lunafreya standing there, beside him.

“The Destroyer has been prophesied, seen by the Oracle, and yet he still lives.”

Lying to a Messenger of the Astrals, and aid to the Oracle, was most likely so many different kinds of treason. And yet -

“Has he now.”

He kept his eyes forward, staring at the large overbearing figure of Bahamut, arms outstretched and blades surrounding him.

“The Oracle is unwell, Assassin.”

Finally, he turned his head to look at Gentiana. But she kept her own gaze forward. “She requested I speak with you. The Astrals are confused, and so her own visions are muddied. She sees a city engulfed in fire. She sees a King who was not destined to rule, sitting on his throne with a smile.”

Ignis swallowed. “Lunafreya is unwell?”

“Darkness lurks in the corners of Eos. The Destroyer feeds off it, even if he doesn’t know. He calls it to him. And that darkness, it plagues the Oracle, our light.”

“Noctis --”

She slowly turned to meet his defiant stare. Her wide dark eyes held no emotion and it unsettled him. “We cannot see if the visions are linked. Will the young King destroy us all, once he is on the throne? Or is that just one future before us?”

“You would have him die, instead of taking the gamble?”

She tilted her head and studied him. Ignis did his best not to fidget.

“He is not the first.”

“Yes of course, the Usurper.”

“No,” Gentiana stepped away, to the small table on the right side of the altar. There was a painting, one of not the Astrals, but of kings and queens - thirteen of Lucis’s most celebrated.

“There have been more.”

The air left his lungs in one exhale. “What?”

She looked back at him. “There have been more. History only recalls their heroic duties. Their sacrifice for the throne.”

Ignis stumbled forward towards the painting he had seen so many times. No, she couldn’t mean - “They were all, murdered?”

She smiled, softly, “They were saved. Just as Eos was.”

“That’s not-”

“The Destroyer becomes something inhuman, something out of our control. Something the Astrals cannot protect Eos from. It is better then, to avoid such a legacy, is it not?”

Sweat gathered on his back. His heart raced. “Noctis would never.”

The faintest of what could be emotion flickered over her face, gone in an instant. “You bear a great weight, Ignis Scientia. But it is the weight you swore to take on. If you do not, you will bring great harm to everyone you know. Darkness will swallow Eos. You know this to be true.”

Ignis squeezed his eyes shut. His chest ached.

When he opened his eyes, Gentiana was gone.

* * *

> _4 Years Ago_

“We anticipate the gala will start slowing down around 20:00,” Ignis pointed at his spot on the itinerary between himself and Gladio.

“Noctis has made it clear he doesn’t want to stay longer than necessary, so at that time it should be safe to extract him. I will be waiting at the car.”

“You won’t be with him?” There was no malice in Gladio’s voice. By this point in their friendship, it was a genuine inquiry.

“I will be until the end nears, so then I need you by his side.”

“You know we can all walk down to the car-” Gladio paused. His face turned so one ear faced the door.

Ignis mimicked him. “Gladio?”

“Someone’s at the door.”

Ignis’s pulse spiked. “It’s just someone walking by, surely.” he looked back down to the itinerary.

Then another sound, sliding paper.

Ignis squeezed his eyes shut, because no, not now, Astrals save him.

“Iggy, someone just slid something under-” Gladio turned and looked to Ignis. “It’s a Citadel message?”

“Interesting,” Ignis put on his best look of surprise. He of course knew what it was. The heavens were trying hard now. He had to act like this was the first, had to forget all the burned letters, the conversations with Gentiana, how he had to watch the King and Oracle’s health fade-

He picked up the envelope. Gladio was right there, at his side. “I’ll open it later, -”

“You don’t ignore personal deliveries from the Citadel, I’m pretty sure.”

Ignis sighed and forced a smile. “No, I suppose not.” He took a few deep, practiced breaths as he moved into the kitchen. He slid his letter opener through the top, through the wax seal.

“Wait,” a strong hand on his forearm, “that wasn’t the royal seal.”

Ah, Ignis has already misstepped. He would have commented, otherwise. “It wasn’t?” Turning the envelope, he inspected it.

“It’s from the Oracle.”

Ignis chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I’m sure it’s nothing too urgent, they would have called us otherwise.”

There was no avoiding this now. Ignis slid open the envelope, and pulled out the parchment, knowing he would have to play this perfectly. He set it on the counter, there for both of them to see.

𝕴𝖓 𝖆𝖇𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖆 𝖑𝖚𝖈𝖎𝖘, 𝕿𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖚𝖓𝖙

Gladio took in a long breath. Ignis put both hands on the counter.

“I don’t,” Gladio’s voice broke, “I didn’t think…”

Ignis didn’t have to do much to hide his emotion. “I believed it all to be superstition, in the end.”

“Shit. Iggy.” A hand on his shoulder, a gentle squeeze.

Ignis almost laughed. Gladio would of course, feel sorry. Because he would believe…

“We don’t have to acknowledge it.” He echoed the thoughts from six years ago, when he started down this journey alone.

“What?” The hand slipped away.

Ignis pushed on, despite already sensing where this conversation would lead. “I can burn it. No one will know. That I read it. That you did.”

“That seems pretty unbelievable, they slid it under your door.”

Ignis licked his lips.

Gladio took another step back. “You’re taking this well. The order to assassinate your secret-fiancé.”

Right. Ignis let his fingers curl against the counter. “You think wanting to burn a letter from the Oracle to ignore a direct order from the Astrals is _taking this well_?”

Gladio didn’t respond. But he did grip Ignis by the bicep and pull him until they were looking at each other.

“Ignis,” his voice was low, threatening, “how long.”

Ignis attempted to pull out of his grasp. “I don’t know what you’re insinuating.”

“You were pretty quick to offer to burn it. Is that what you’ve been doing? Shit,” Gladio stepped away, hands in his hair as he stared at Ignis.

“That...that’s why things have been so janky, isn’t it? Lady Lunafreya getting sick, the priests being more and more frantic, how we keep hitting these weird roadblocks with Noctis? Why you keep your engagement, your entire relationship, a secret?”

Ignis pushed his hand still on the counter flat against it to try to absorb to coolness of the stone into his very core.

“They didn’t expect him to live this long, did they?”

Ignis swallowed. He didn’t want to lie to Gladio, one of his few true friends. But he put them both at risk by telling him the truth. Even more, he put Noctis at risk.

Or maybe he could plead with him, to have an ally.

“He wasn’t supposed to make it to eighteen, Gladio.”

“Shit!” Gladio turned away. He slammed a hand, flat, against the wall. Ignis was thankful he at least didn’t punch a hole in it.

“Ignis what the fuck were you thinking?!”

Ignis looked at his hand, then back up to Gladio, who had moved back into the kitchen. His hands were at his sides, balled up tight.

“I thought the gods were wrong.”

The statement hung in the air. Gladio blinked.

“Oh, we’re so fucked. Ignis, you swore an _oath_.”

“And what of it?” Ignis’s voice rose. He had years of pent up anger at the fate dealt to Noctis that he had never let go of, that he was reminded of constantly. He was not prepared to be judged for his actions, not by Gladio. “Would you do it, Gladio? Would you slice Noctis’s throat on command from people who claim to speak for the Astrals?”

Whatever Gladio had been about to say died on his tongue. His mouth slammed shut, worked through whatever thoughts he had.

Gladio turned and walked into the living room. Ignis deflated, sliding to sit on the floor of the kitchen.

Then footsteps charged towards him and Ignis didn’t have time to stand back up, before Gladio had a hand in the collar of his shirt and pulled. He tried to follow gracefully, but by the time he was upright, Gladio slapped him hard across the face.

He fell back against the counter, but he took it. He tasted blood on his lips.

“I want to punch you, so fucking bad.” Gladio growled.

“So you would do it?” Ignis whispered. He didn’t look up.

It was almost better, not seeing the next hit to his stomach coming. He folded forward and fell to his knees. But then when Gladio reached down, this time Ignis grabbed his forearm and managed to flip him around onto his stomach. He didn’t train for show.

“Say it,” Ignis knelt over him and twisted his arm up his back.

Gladio said many strings of curse words.

But he wouldn’t say _it_. Ignis knew, then, he was working through the grief. Torn between the loyalty to Noctis and the oath he had also sworn, long ago, to make sure the prophecy was upheld if needed.

But Gladio was like Ignis. And he was angry.

“Fuck you,” Gladio muttered into the floor.

Ignis tightened his grip. Gladio finally relaxed his body.

When Ignis released him, he slid away, back against the cabinets and feet outstretched. His lip stung. He would have to figure out how to explain that to Noctis later.

Gladio took his time sitting up. When he did, Ignis saw his eyes were wet. He looked down at his hands in his lap.

“I’ve had some time to...process this. I understand your anger.”

“You don’t understand shit, Ignis.”

“Hmm,”

Gladio moved to sit beside him though. He curled his legs up, so he rested his arms across his knees.

“I don’t know what I’m more pissed about.” Gladio started slowly. Neither of them turned to look at the other.

“That you hid this from me, that you have ignored your oath,” he took in a deep breath, “or that I’m glad you didn’t listen.”

Ignis nodded his head. “Shall I burn it, then?”

Another silence between them.

“Can I do it?”

* * *

> _2 Years Ago_

As the crystallized sword hung in the air in the dusty tomb, Ignis had the first inkling of doubt since he burned the first letter.

The sword flew forward, through Noctis, and his heart nearly stopped. He knew what magic it was, but it was still on instinct difficult to watch. But Noctis didn’t seem worried; he let his hands brush over the crystals sparkling over his skin before looking back up to Cor.

“The power of Kings goes with you, Your Majesty.”

Gladio shot Ignis a look. He made a gesture of _not now_.

“These...this will help me save Luna? Stop the Darkness?” Noctis tried to sound sure, but there was a smallness to his voice.

Cor nodded. “Your father claimed that to be so. He was too weak to carry out this journey himself. He only wished he could have given you this path sooner, but it is not usually the way.”

Noctis wasn’t supposed to take on the royal arms while his father still lived, another unfortunate tradition that made their journey laced with a layer of deep sadness. But the part about this being a way to stave off the darkness, that had been something extremely interesting to Ignis. He and Gladio had of course been quick to take up this pilgrimage.

It helped them avoid the assassination attempts on Noctis that had increased once he had ascended to the throne.

“Then we will find them all.” Noctis straightened up.

Cor, satisfied with the answer, bowed and exited the tomb. Noctis turned to the Ignis.

“Dude, that was so cool!” Prompto jumped forward, hand on Noctis’s shoulder. “Did it feel weird? Did it hurt?”

“Prompto,” Ignis warned, “give him some space.”

“It’s fine,” Noctis smiled and elbowed his friend.

“We should get back to the haven, figure out our route based on what intel Cor has given us.”

Noctis nodded. Gladio led the way, with Ignis behind Prompto and Noctis.

That night, Gladio and Prompto called it a night much earlier than Noctis and Ignis. Which meant they were allowed some privacy, after almost a month of driving around the countryside just for this first sign of hope.

Ignis stretched out with a rock at his back. Noctis settled between his legs. The stars above them were still something to get used to, compared to the night sky of Insomnia. It was hard to imagine that somewhere, in the distance, a terrible scourge slowly made its way for them.

Noctis rested his head back against Ignis and let out a sigh.

“Yes?” Ignis traced his fingers up and down his arms to try to soothe him.

“Do you really think this will work?”

“I say it’s worth trying, isn’t it?”

Noctis took his left hand with his own. Their matching golden rings glinted in the firelight. They weren’t married in the eyes of the gods, but to each other, they didn’t need more than their own oaths and words.

Gladio had worked through more emotions when they told him and Prompto. But they were already in this deep. There was no turning back.

“They say the Darkness,” Noctis whispered, “could become permanent. That doing so would kill Luna. And then destroy Eos.”

Ignis shifted and turned his hand to slot their palms together. “We won’t let that happen. Any of it.”

A soft laugh. “You seem pretty confident.”

He pressed a kiss to Noctis’s temple. “I’ll do anything to protect you.”

Noctis pulled away and he worried he had misspoken. But then Noctis was back, facing him and sitting in his lap with his legs tucked behind Ignis. His arms wrapped around Ignis’s shoulders. His eyes were wide, wanting, and scared.

“Kiss me.”

Ignis did as his King commanded, one hand in his hair and the other sliding down his back. They moved slow, breathing in time with each other.

A sound, just behind Noctis, caught his attention. Soft footsteps. Ignis froze. He tightened his grip on Noctis.

“Warp.” He whispered.

“What?”

“Now!” He hissed as he threw Noctis off him. The flash of blue told him Noctis had at least listened, right as a knife came for his chest.

He barely managed to summon a dagger to block at the hilt to prevent it from being fatal, but it still struck through the flesh of his shoulder.

“Ignis!” Noctis screamed.

He had no time to think. Only to take on the next swipe of the knife, and then tackle the assassin as they moved towards Noctis.

“Death to the Destroyer!” The assassin shouted as he charged them.

Meanwhile, Gladio and Prompto had scrambled out of the tent and their weapons immediately materialized. The assassin had no chance, once the three of them were full of bloodlust and fury. It took mere moments for them to be cut down.

When it was done, the four of them stood over the body.

“What the fuck?” Noctis knelt and inspected the body. “Who would want to kill me?”

Gladio and Ignis shared a look. They had managed to keep all previous attempts quiet, quelled before Noctis had even known they were coming. This was a first.

“We will of course, report this back to the Citadel to investigate immediately.”

Noctis rose and covered his mouth with both hands. Prompto wrapped an arm around him.

“You’re okay dude,”

“Wait, shit, Ignis, you’re hurt.”

He waved it off. “A potion will do me fine.”

Noctis furrowed his brows. He summoned one and handed it to Ignis, who crushed it and welcomed the relief.

“I’ll call Cor and request they send someone out immediately to collect the body.” Ignis shot Gladio a look that spoke the truth.

They would dispose of the body. If anyone investigated this and it was traced back to the priests, it could cause even more problems.

“We should all sleep, if we can. Tomorrow we move on to the next tomb, and it’s quite the drive.”

“I can’t sleep now.” Noctis went back to the fire and collapsed in a chair, “people want me dead?”

The look he gave Ignis near broke him.

“Someone always wants a king dead,” Gladio supplied.

“Gladio,” Ignis didn’t want to upset Noctis more.

“But they know why I’m out here, to stop the Darkness, to save Luna, why…” He shook his head. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“People often don’t, dude.” Prompto plopped down beside him.

“They said...death to the _destroyer_.”

Ignis winced. He had hoped Noctis had missed that, between the everything. “There are a lot of different groups in this world, who knows what one this person came from.”

Noctis stared at the fire. He spun his ring around on his finger. Ignis stepped closer to Gladio as Prompto continued to comfort Noctis, and they moved to handle the body.

“You do realize this is it, right?” Gladio whispered as they carried the body away from the haven.

“We have to convince him we are handling this, that he doesn’t need to ask questions-”

“Ignis he is the King now, not some kid you can hide shit from.”

They made it to the river, and within two swings tossed the body into the water.

“It is _because_ he is our King, that we must protect him. He’s made it this far.”

“I’ve stood by for the last two years, Iggy,” Gladio kicked a pebble, “and before you freak out, I’m not saying we change the course now. I just mean, maybe it will be easier if we just, you know.”

“Surely you don’t mean-”

“We tell him, Iggy.”

“We cannot tell him the prophecy, Gladio.”

“Why not? We’re already in deep. At this point we might have the Astrals themselves coming after us. Noctis deserves to at least be prepared to fight.”

Ignis spun on him. “We’ve tempted the gods this much, but we know now the Destroyer is _real_ , Gladio. That other kings were killed before they could get this far. There is a reason they are never told about their true form. What if we become the reason the prophecy is fulfilled?”

Gladio had the gall to laugh. “You think powering up Noctis with the royal arms, which by the way, all belong to the exact same kings who were deemed destroyers and killed, isn’t already fucking that up?”

Ignis opened his mouth. Then closed it again. Then stepped back.

“You really didn’t think about that?”

“My goal is to ensure that Eos doesn’t become destroyed and that Noctis lives.”

“Noctis might still do that. And he might not.”

“Noct wouldn’t, that’s not him. I refuse to believe he would willingly harm anyone.”

“You don’t know what he can really do, no one does.”

“I still believe Noctis would never--”

“What won’t I do?”

They both froze. Their lights on their coats moved with their fast breathing. Then they both turned to see Noctis and Prompto, standing there.

“What won’t I do?” Noctis repeated.

Ignis looked to Gladio again. The look he gave told Ignis there was no getting out of this.

“Let’s go back to camp-”

“I said-”

“I will tell you.” Ignis stepped forward and pulled Noctis into a hug. “I will tell you. Let’s...let’s just get back to camp first please, Noctis.”

“Okay,” arms wrapped around his waist, fingers tugging at his jacket, “okay.

* * *

> _1 Year Ago_

The darkness hadn’t been kind to Lady Lunafreya. They could all see it the moment they set foot in the small underground shelter Gentiana had requested they meet at.

She wore a heavy black cloak that draped loosely around her; it was strange to see the oracle dressed in anything but her white robes. But it didn’t hide how gaunt she had become. The dark circles under her eyes and the way she took each breath carefully showed how weak she had grown.

Noctis tensed beside Ignis the moment they laid eyes on her. He understood why. He would feel guilt of course that this was all his fault - the darkness, her weakening, the daemons that waged war on the city of Insomnia.

But if there was anyone to blame here, it was Ignis. He was the one responsible for it all. Noctis didn’t know everything - not how long ago he was supposed to die. And not that Ignis was supposed to be the one to end him. Noctis only knew that the priests believed he held a dark power within him and wanted him dead.

Ignis only wished he could be the one who could fix it as well. But that would require giving up that which he could never live without.

Perhaps if he could allow himself to fall.

“Noctis,” Lunafreya’s voice was soft, like she breathed out each syllable. Noctis fell forward and to his knees at her side where she sat. Gentiana emerged from the shadows, a hand on the oracle’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” Noctis held her hand tight.

“No, it is I who am sorry,” Luna smiled at him, then her eyes landed on Ignis. “We have all been betrayed.”

Ignis blinked. Noctis lifted his head.

Gladio stepped forward when the silence lingered too long. “The hell you mean?”

Gentiana lifted her chin. Her eyes stayed shut but Ignis still felt their chill over him. The memory of each of their conversations and the brief moments when she would look at him haunted him.

“The Oracle, and myself, we only deliver messages from the gods. We cannot interpret them. We believe in the priests to do so.”

Ignis stepped beside Noctis, a hand on his shoulder.

Lunafreya’s gaze didn’t leave Noctis as she spoke. “But now the gods have spoken to us clearly, for the first time. To set things right.”

“To set what right?” Ignis gripped Noctis tighter. He didn't want to get his hopes up. He didn't want to think that maybe there was another way, that something else had caused all this.

Lunafreya stretched out her pale arm. Her hand held something within its grasp, and she held it out towards Noctis. There was a small tremor to her arm. Noctis held up both palms.

The four of them all gasped as a ring, black as the night, dropped into Noctis’s hands.

“Luna,” Noctis whispered, “I don't understand.”

“Darkness will swallow the Six and the star they protect. The Chosen King alone can wear the Ring of Light.” Gentiana spoke quietly, reverently. “The King chosen by the stone grows stronger with the Oracle at his side. With the ring in hand, the King can dispel the darkness.”

They all stood, silently. Noctis looked at the ring.

It was Lunafreya, who broke the quiet. “That was the message from the Astrals. Many years ago, we were told this, and the priests interpreted it to mean that Noctis had to die, that he was not the Chosen King.”

“That he who had been fated to die so long ago, lived and is now the savior, is why our visions were twisted for so long. We saw the two fates, the two histories. But now the Chosen King is here, and the path is clear.”

Noctis rose, the ring still in his hand. He knit his eyebrows together, deep in thought.

“What of the priests?” Ignis asked. “What do they say to all this?”

Lunafreya made a sound of disgust. It was a foreign sound coming from her. “They were led astray by their selfishness for the power the ring holds. All this time has been focused on making sure there was none who would wear it, side from them.”

“But then the darkness came, different than any other time. Not since Ardyn Lucis Caelum has there been a scourge, and they lost their ability to control the Crystal.”

“So what, I just. Put on the ring? And the darkness goes away?”

Gentiana shook her head. Gladio gripped Ignis by the arm, pulling him back and away from Noctis. But he didn't look away. He wanted to hear what the Messenger had to say, wanted to know what their solution was.

“The ring will only enhance your power. That which has been called the Destroyer will awaken as the Chosen King. But you must hurry. The fearful seek to seal the path of what must come.”

This time, Gladio didn’t let Ignis stand his ground. He pulled Ignis away, and Prompto took up his spot beside Noctis.

“Gladio please,”

“Ignis, listen to me. Are you sure about this?”

Ignis finally spun around. “Sure about what?”

Gladio looked back to the group, then lowered his voice more. “The ring. You've heard the same stories as me. The ring is what we are supposed to keep _from_ the Destroyer. Not _give_ it to him.”

Ignis pulled himself out of Gladio’s grasp. “I’m sure you know that at this point I don't give a damn about what we are and are not supposed to do.”

He and Gladio watched as Noctis put on the Ring of Lucis.

He had half expected the fire of Ifrit to rain down on them from the skies the moment it happened. Despite everything said he still braced for that moment of impact, to be proven wrong despite everything they had learned.

When nothing happened except continued hollow silence around them, Ignis let out a sigh. And when Noctis looked up at him, they both smiled.

“To answer your question, Gladio, I am quite sure.”

* * *

> _PRESENT DAY_

Ignis couldn't have known this was where his life would have ended. But he felt like maybe he should have as the flames of Ifrit’s sword swallowed the trees in front of him.

Noctis was somewhere above, flying through the air and using his swords to attack as much as he could through the smoke.

Even with the flames licking at his uniform and the blood running down his arm, Ignis wouldn't have traded this moment.

Not for the life of Noctis.

“Where the hell is Gentiana!” Gladio pulled Ignis down as another wave of fire swept over their heads. Ifrit let out a roar.

Ignis lost track of Noctis again until a flash of blue across the courtyard gave him relief.

“I can’t control a Messenger. I only know she said her and Lady Lunafreya would be here to open the gates-”

Prompto, at Ignis’s left, fired a shot. “Luna isn't in any shape to be out in this mess!”

“It can't be helped if we can't get to the Crystal! We need the oracle to open the path!”

Noctis appeared beside them, and they all ran down the street. Ifrit seemed to be distracted for a brief second looking for Noctis in the opposite direction. They ducked behind an upturned car.

“Noct,” Ignis knocked their foreheads together almost too hard. Noctis gripped the back of his neck.

“I’m okay. Listen,” he took a few breaths.

Ignis wanted nothing more than to be back in their apartment in Lestallum, pretending the world wasn't ending around them despite the past two years of darkness.

“I need you to trust me,” Noctis whispered against his lips. “I need you to take Gladio and Prompto to Luna, and protect her so she can open the gate.”

Ignis slid his hands up Noctis’s neck. “I’m not leaving you-”

“This is what I was meant to do,” Noctis covered his hands with his own. Ignis kept his eyes focused on the dark blue hue in front of him. “The Destroyer, that’s what they call me. I have the power to stop all of this, that’s why they wanted you to get rid of me.”

“Ifrit was captured by the priests as their final defense against _you._ ” Gladio’s voice growled over them both. “You’ll be right where they want you.”

“If that means stopping all this,” Noctis pulled away from Ignis, “if that means saving all of you.”

Ignis let his hands fall to the asphalt. He dug his fingers into the debris that littered the ground. “It’s still not worth your life.”

When he looked up, Noctis had stood. He watched over the car, back towards where they had been fighting.

“You made that choice for me, ten years ago, Specs.” He looked down. “And I’m grateful. But now I have to make that choice for myself.”

Ignis shook his head. Gladio helped him stand. Prompto grabbed Noctis by the arm.

“I love you guys. Help me save the world, okay?”

Ignis couldn’t let this happen, not this way. He had tried so, so hard. Had given up so much to get Noctis there, and to have him die all the same?

“I expect you to live,” Ignis said with all the conviction he could. His throat was raw, but he made himself hold his head up high.

Noctis smiled. “I never could really say no to you, could I?”

Before Ignis could reply Noctis splayed out both hands, and he was surrounded by crystallized weapons swirling around himself as he rose up high into the air. He kept his gaze forward, and warped back towards the battle.

Ignis lowered his head to rest against Gladio’s shoulder to keep himself from letting the tears fall down his cheeks.

* * *

> _Six months later_

“Prompto would you please stop bouncing around me,” Ignis tried for the tenth time to get his blue cravat to lay correctly, but his fingers shook.

“Come on, aren’t you excited?”

He gripped Prompto by the arm when he tried to pass between him and the mirror once more. Prompto met his stare with a wide grin and a flash of a camera. Ignis rolled his eyes.

“Don’t know why you’re so nervous,” Gladio pulled at his shoulder and forced him to turn around. He smiled as he took care of the offending silk.

Ignis fidgeted. “It’s making things very...official. That’s very foreign to me.”

“Figured you would be happy,”

“I _am_.”

Gladio finished the cravat, and playfully smacked his cheek. “Then let’s get going.”

“Wooo!” Prompto cheered and led the way.

Ignis brushed his hands down the front of his dark blue suit. He was happy, extremely so. But they had become so used to living in hiding, of not being able to celebrate, that he hadn’t thought he would ever be able to.

“You look great, Iggy!” Prompto whipped around and took a few more pictures. Ignis tried not to look as embarrassed as he felt.

Gladio moved past him and opened the doors to the temple. It was brightly lit, nothing like every other ceremony he had ever been within its walls, dark and candlelit and serious.

At the front, standing at the altar, Lunafreya smiled, dressed immaculately in white. He paused as the whole room turned to look at him.

“There you are,”

Ignis’s breath caught. To his right appeared Noctis, in his kingly raiment. The gold of his chains glistened as the sun caught it. He had freshly shaved, and his bright smile was even brighter than the sun’s beams.

Ignis bowed his head. “Apologies, my suit was being difficult.”

Noctis smiled. He held out a hand. Ignis took it. “You look stunning.”

“Right back at ya,” Noctis blushed.

Prompto cleared his throat from in front of them. “You guys ready to do this, for reals?”

“Ya, you sure you wanna be with our Prince Charmless forever in the eyes of the Astrals?” Gladio teased in a whisper.

Ignis tightened his grip on Noctis’s hand and looked at him.

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!! 
> 
> Come find me on [Twitter! ](https://twitter.com/crazyloststar)


End file.
